With the advent of DVD, it seems every band worth its salt requires a DVD release of some sort. Even some rather substandard bands have been releasing them of late, so it's about time that the mighty Opeth followed suit. Lamentations contains a 120 minute live set plus an hour long documentary for good measure, and it's nothing short of excellent.

Recorded in 2003 in London, the live set chiefly promotes their recent Deliverance and Damnation releases, and is split into two sets. The first is a live rendition of Damnation in its entirety plus 'Harvest' from Blackwater Park. The material is flawlessly played and passionately sung by vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt. The sound quality of this recording is breathtaking, with each note and instrument sounding crystal clear. The highlight of the set is surely 'Closure', as it has been reworked and thusly transformed into something of a prog epic. Beautiful stuff. However, it is the second set which most fans will be wanting to see, as it contains their heavier and better known material. The sound is huge for these songs. Heavy, complex and haunting, Opeth have never sounded better, and watching this performance is as close to matching the power of the band live as you could possibly hope for on DVD. My only gripe is the lack of material from anything prior to Blackwater Park. Not to take away from the brilliance of that which is played, but it would have been great to see some material from Still Life and beyond. An unfortunate result of label-hopping throughout their career.

The documentary is a triumph for those who wish to see the band in their 'warts and all' glory. Containing interviews with each member and plenty of studio footage, it provides a nice insight into the band's recording process, and will prove fascinating to those who worship Opeth.

Overall, Lamentations delivers all that it promised, and is difficult to fault. It is certainly flawless from a production and performance point of view, and it is only the lack of older material which stops this from being perfect. Nonetheless, an essential purchase both for fanatics and passing fans alike.

I bought it the day that it came out and thought that not only was it badly put together but it showed the guys to be every bit the Dungeons and Dragons coated geeks I had so desperately hoped they weren't.. I took it back with immediate action and had very quickly sweep my Opeth phase carefully under the carpet. I still think Blackwater park is an awesome album but can not condone or support such polite and characterless bands.

Jack Sabbath , you clearly do not know genious when you see it . The DVD is AWESOME !!! Opeth RULES and will always RULE . I just hope they make a DVD for Ghost Reveries...Best album I've ever heard in my life !!! So stop the Opeth bashing , man . It's not cool

I really like Mikael's stage presence, its like hes just chilling out with everybody else, and you certainly wouldn't expect him to sing death metal after the first set. The DVD encompasses Opeth's musical dichotomy.

I bought it the day that it came out and thought that not only was it badly put together but it showed the guys to be every bit the Dungeons and Dragons coated geeks I had so desperately hoped they weren't.. I took it back with immediate action and had very quickly sweep my Opeth phase carefully under the carpet. I still think Blackwater park is an awesome album but can not condone or support such polite and characterless bands.

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What´s wrong with beeing polite anyway?
As long as they make such great music....and I am glad that they are polite and relaxed guys and not assholes like like some of other metal-musicians.

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